Noupoort: from Steam to Wind

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Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Karoo Cameos Series Hosted by the Karoo Development Foundation

NOUPOORT From Steam to Wind

2021

Series editor: Prof Doreen Atkinson [email protected]

ROSE WILLIS is the author of The Karoo Cookbook (2008), as well as the monthly e-journal Rose’s Round-up. She co-authored Yeomen of the Karoo: The Story of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital at Deelfontein, with Arnold van Dyk and Kay de Villiers (2016).

1 Rose Willis is the author of The Karoo Cookbook (Ryno Struik Publishers, 2008), and the e-journal Rose’s Roundup.

She co-authored Yeomen of the Karoo: The Story of the Imperial Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Noupoort is somewhat different to most little Karoo towns. The village, which was not started by the church, mushroomed around a railway station. It played a very important role in the Anglo-Boer War.

Noupoort is situated 54km south of Colesberg and 45km north of Middelburg. It lies against a mountainous backdrop. A scenic gravel road wends its way eastwards from Noupoort, through broken hills and valleys towards the remote farmstead of Oorlogspoort, before turning south towards the railway village of Rosmead on the R56 which links Middelburg and Steynsburg. There is also a well-engineered pass that connects Noupoort to Middelburg on the N9 route. With fairly easy gradients, the 7km long road affords views of stunning Karoo landscape and a drive through here is well worth the effort. This is Carlton Pass, and it takes its name from the large mountain to the south of Noupoort, known as Carlton Hills.

The Kikvorsberge (or “Frog Mountains”), to the north-east of Noupoort, is a harsh and desolate environment. This sandstone escarpment consists of a high plateau, more than 1700m above sea level. It features dense vegetation and undulating grassland which is broken by sandstone ledges and outcrops of dolerite. In places, the sandstone bedrock is exposed in large sheets. There are many shallow pools, which archaeologists call waterbakke (water basins).

Image: Chris Marais www.karoospace.co.za

In early days, the low-lying area between Kikvorsberg in the north and Caroluspoort (where the station was built) was a dangerous place to work because it was densely wooded and thickly overgrown with matjiesriet (cape bulrush) and fluitjiesriet (whistling reeds) that afforded excellent shelter for the many predators that lurked in the bushes. Even the cattle herders and shepherds kept a constant eye out for lions and leopards.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

PREHISTORIC CREATURES AND EARLY DWELLERS

Several sites south and south-east of Noupoort have revealed Lystrosaurus fossils, which date from just after the catastrophic end-Permian Mass Extinction of 252 million years ago. Noupoort’s early prehistoric inhabitants included the four-legged, pig-sized Lystrosaurus.

Lystrosaurus (from Benton 2003)

For thousands of years, stone age people roamed through the northern Karoo near Noupoort. In the valley of the Zeekoei River, which lies immediately west of the Noupoort, some 10 000 archaeological sites have been found. There are few caves in the Karoo, and therefore most sites consist of open scatterings of stone artefacts, ostrich eggshell fragments and occasionally, pottery.

Several farms near Noupoort have archaeological remnants, such as Holbrook, Blydefontein and Hartebeesthoek.

Holbrook, Blydefontein and Hartebeesthoek, east of Noupoort

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

The most recent archaeological remains relating to the San have been historically described as the “Smithfield Industry”, and are found from the Free State to the Northern and Eastern Cape. These remnants typically consist of flaked stone tools, grinding equipment, bored stones, and potsherds, according to Dr Tim Hart.

Typical stone age artefacts Images: Tim Hart

About a thousand years ago, Khoi herders moved into the Karoo. Khoikhoi kraals were almost always built adjacent to or against low ridges and cliffs. Anywhere where there is a cluster of rock that provided shelter from the wind or a shallow cave inevitably has archaeological material associated with it.

On the farm Holbrook, east of Noupoort, a scatter of Middle Stone Age material is associated with this stone outcrop

On the farm Hartebeeshoek, historic kraals have been built over earlier Stone Age scattered remains.

Images : Tim Hart

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

On the farm Blydefontein, in the upper reaches of the Oorlogspoort River in the Kikvorsberge, researchers discovered late Stone Age tools near a reliable water source. People already lived here about 13 600 years ago.

About a thousand years ago, Khoi people moved into the Karoo with their livestock. They tended to prefer valley bottoms where there were rivers and fountains, shelter from the prevailing winds as well as the potential for grazing small stock on or close to the sandy riverbeds. Also important were low ridges adjacent to flat plains. Where low ridges, cliffs and shallow caves were available, the Khoi would build their kraals to provide shelter from the wind.

Blydefontein Rock Shelter Image: CB Bousman

Blydefontein farm today

Wandering trekboere (migrant farmers) braved it into these mountainous areas by the late 1700s. So did some explorers, ivory hunters and official travelling parties. One of the earliest official groups arrived in the area in 1803. This party included Governor-General Jan Willem Janssens, and his aide-de-camp, an artillery captain, Willem Bartholomé Eduard Paravicini di Capelli.

With them was Cape colonist Dirk Gysbert van Reenen, a prominent burger, winemaker, beer brewer and owner of several farms. He kept a diary, which was later published.

Also in the party were Van Reenen’s son, Daniel, Coenraad Nelson, the second lieutenant, H Gilmer, who was in command of a detachment of Dragoons, the surgeon-major JP Passet.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Governor Jan Willem Janssens (left)

and

Dirk Gysbert van Reenen (right)

The expedition left Cape Town 2 April 1803, accompanied by three sturdy wagons, each drawn by twelve oxen and loaded with provisions, camping equipment, small articles of furniture, cooking utensils, stationery, sets of horse-shoes, a variety of hardware and equipment for lifting, hauling and carrying.

There was also a comfortable travelling-wagon, for use in the case of sickness or bad weather.

On 15 July, this substantial party stayed over on the farm Caroluspoort, then the home of Johannes Petrus van der Walt, but getting there was not without excitement.

Paravincini wrote: “Descending through the Roodeberg we saw for the first time in the far distance some gnus (called by the Colonists blaauw wildebeest on account of their wild and wonderful capers). One of the farmers found a quagga foal. By two o'clock, the General was at Caroluspoort, the cattle-farm of commandant Johannes van der Walt, but Mr van Reenen, Dr Passet and I had got lost on the way while following a large herd of hartebeest. We only found the camp long after dark, having had to light a signal-fire and fire many shots.”

These emergency measures eventually brought a search party sent out by Van der Walt to their camp. After leaving Caroluspoort, the company hunted eland and shot 17 which were picked up by the wagons. They then stayed over at Ventersfontein, in the hills behind the Roodeberg, before travelling further inland.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Caroluspoort, the historic farm just west of Noupoort

The expansion of frontier farming brought these farmers into conflict with the Khoisan occupants of these remote Karoo regions. The trekboers who established themselves onto the upper escarpment launched an almost successful campaign to drive the San out of the area. Numerous place names throughout the Karoo such as Oorlogspoort (east of Noupoort) are testimony the skirmishes of the late 18th century. The situation became so desperate that the colonists fought back by establishing the Commando system – the “hunting” of San was officially sanctioned in 1777.

From 1835, Dutch farmers began moving out of the Cape and into the interior in search of greener pastures, and to escape British rule. During this exodus which was to become known as The Great Trek, some wagons passed through this part of the Karoo. A favourite camping spot was always the farm Caroluspoort, just west of Noupoort.

THE RAILWAY REVOLUTION

With the development of the railway line from Port Elizabeth into the hinterland in the 1880s came new railway stations. By 1881, the railway line ended on the farm Carlton, a wild area on the escarpment, 10 km south of the modern day of Noupoort.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Work was held up while authorities waited for an agreement between the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State before the continuing the line and so all goods had to be transported from this remote spot by ox-wagon to inland destinations. At times, as many as 90 wagons were outspanned on this farm and its neighbour, Naauwpoort, the home of Mr Diston, waiting to transport goods from the station to destinations inland.

The Noupoort station was erected on the farm Hartebeeshoek in 1884, then owned by Barend Kruger. At first a few railway shacks were erected to house the workers on the installation of the rail. The first real railway house was built in Noupoort in 1890. By 1898 there were more than 20 railway houses, and the town was known as Naauwpoort (“narrow pass”). The reason for this, it was said, was because nearly all the railway personnel were English speaking and the name Hartebeeshoek was too much of a tongue twister for them. (In 1963, the Dutch spelling was changed to the Afrikaans name Noupoort). This name is attributed to the very narrow pass, through the Agter Rhenosterberg and the Carlton Hills, to Middelburg further south. At this spot, the road and the railway line drop down into the Cape Midlands.

Noupoort station, 1895, looking southwards, with Afrikasberg in the distance. Image: EH Short; Transnet Heritage Library

At the time, trains in this part of the Karoo were such a novelty that young boys charged across the veld for miles on horseback just to see them. After the branch line to De Aar on the main Cape Town to Johannesburg line was completed, a village started to develop around the little station. At that time, the village was also a staging stop for post coaches.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Noupoort station, 1895 Image: EH Short; Transnet Heritage Library

In its day, Noupoort, one of the smallest districts of the Great Karoo, became a major sheep farming centre and an important railway junction, with up to 100 trains passing daily. Trains were the lifeblood of the village, and they clanked, puffed and whistled throughout the day and night. A marshalling yard, numerous goods sheds and workshop area sprang up.

Imperial map: Noupoort The old north-south road went through the town Today the N9 highway bypass Noupoort, on the eastern side

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

A WEALTH OF FAITHS

The early churches in Noupoort were the Weslyan, Presbyterian and All Souls Anglican churches .

The All Souls Anglican Church was designed by JWA Rose, a railway engineer, in memory of fallen British soldiers.

The church always had an international flavour: The roof tiles came from Marseilles in France and the windows from London.

The church was built in 1901 by British troops, of which some were stonemasons, who were stationed at Noupoort. The troops were repatriated before they could complete the church. The apse was later completed with red face brick. This church was mainly served by visiting ministers, and a St Agnes Church was a sister Anglican church in the township.

The Anglican church, with its curious little wooden turret

The building is now a National Heritage site.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

The names of the war casualties were cut into wooden plaques which adorn the church. The municipality bought this church from the Anglican community for R2 000 in 1976, and it became a museum on 30 September 1977. (If you would like to visit it, please ask for the key at the Municipality).

The beautiful interior of the All Souls Church, now a museum.

The church was renovated in 1979. Its opening was a momentous occasion. The Anglican Church in Middelburg requested the Town Clerk, Mr Christie Jansen, to make the building available for a memorial service on 19 May 1979. The Bishop of London, the Most Reverend Bishop Dr Gerald Ellison, combined the memorial service with the inauguration of the museum. This was a big day for Noupoort. The town sprang into action, got things ready and scheduled the opening of the museum to coincide with this visit. The Bishop was hosted by the Barnes-Webb family on their farm.

The Presbyterian Church, also built by British troops

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Most of the congregations for these little churches came from the military camp and hospital. After the war their membership quickly dwindled. The Wesleyan and Presbyterian churches amalgamated in the Presbyterian church building, and the little Wesleyan church was used as a school from 1916-1918. After standing empty for a number of years, it was sold to the Apostolic Faith Mission.

The Wesleyan Church

The first Dutch church services for the local community were held in a small zinc and iron building. This congregation later moved into a building in Shaw Street which the Shaw Brothers, had made available to the British Army for a military hospital. Services were regularly conducted by ministers from Hanover, Middelburg, Steynsburg and Colesberg.

In March 1905, a local church was built. It was served by Reverend BJ Pienaar, who also ministered to the railway personnel, as well as congregations in Bechuanaland and the then South West Africa. The Dutch Reformed church was then established in 1913 in a venue donated by Hans Appel. Ten days after he made this gesture, Reverend DMC Smit was invested here.

Noupoort played a key role in the evangelising mission among railway workers. On 3 October 1877, Reverend William West Jones, arrived in Cape Town as the successor of Bishop Robert Grey, Bishop of Cape Town. The Railway Mission began with Bishop West Jones' visit to the Wellington railway workshops in 1876. He was shocked at the appalling facilities provided for railway-workmen and at the consequent moral degeneracy.

''What I need," he wrote, "is a clergyman who will give himself up specially to this work, moving on, as the line advances, so as to exercise a wholesome control over the various gangs of men employed." He envisaged a sort of chaplain to the workers, of all races, who were building the line to the north.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

A railway mission coach

The Railway Mission was initiated by two clergymen, the Ellison brothers, from their base at Noupoort. They obtained a coach from the Cape Railways; this would be hitched onto a train and then unhitched in any lonely siding where there were men and women to whom to minister. There they would stay until another train passed, taking them to new fields of ministry. Thus railway-workers, their families and others living in remote areas along the line received Christian ministry.

The railway mission staff in 1907

Images: Transnet Heritage Library

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Spreading the light: The Railway Mission

The railway mission also helped the town acquire a little hospital, according to Dr JJ Marais, in his overview of Noupoort. A railway missionary, Reverend Hill collaborated with the Railway Administrators to erect a small building to house about ten patients. One nurse was appointed at the railway location. This was placed in the hands of local committee and was funded by donations acquired locally and abroad in the United Kingdom, largely due to the efforts of Reverend Hill.

This arrangement worked so well that the Village Management Board approached the Cape Provincial administration for a hospital. This led to the establishment of an institution named the Fritz Visser hospital, named in honour of AF Visser who had left R5000 in his will for the establishment of such an undertaking.

The hospital was officially opened on 1 September 1955 by the Administrator of the Cape, PJ Olivier. He only entered the political arena when he was about 40 years old. Prior to that he studied agriculture in Stellenbosch and later in Sydney, Australia and worked as farmer. Many schools and hospitals were named in his honour. The existing little private hospital was then taken over by the Village management Board and turned into an isolation hospital.

BUILDING A TOWN

There were several entrepreneurs among the early residents. Barend Kruger owned the farm Hartebeeshoek, and he sold the portion on which Noupoort would be built, to Piet Pienaar. Pienaar then sold the eastern side to the Scottish-born Shaw Brothers and the west to J Elsworth. Both set up general dealerships, serving local residents on both sides of the railway.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

During the Anglo-Boer War, they built hotels. Shaw Street commemorates this early trader; it is now the main street in Noupoort, and it links the Central Business District with the N9 highway.

Old Noupoort, showing Shaw Street. It is likely that it was the original main road to Middelburg.

There was a small Jewish community. The earliest Jewish settler was Harris Brenner from Kovno, Lithuania, who arrived in Noupoort in 1900 where he worked as a clerk. Ernest Friedman owned a general and produce store in the early 1900s.

During the Anglo-Boer War, two hotels were built to cater for the needs of the British troops. The first, a wood and iron building, was later demolished. In its place came the British African Hotel (now the Noupoort Hotel), run by Mrs Elsworth. The Shaw Brothers built the Imperial Hotel; it was then taken over by a German, named Smollen, when the brothers were declared insolvent. The Standard Bank opened in 1900. It first operated from a humble wood and iron building, but later moved to a private residence. The first manager was Mr JB Leith, the teller was Mr EC Mawley, and the Clerk was Mr A Vatch.

J Appel later bought some enterprises from the Shaws. His name is immortalised in Appel Street. In time, CPJ Hitchcock and PH Oosthuizen, a lawyer, who had come to town in 1903, also bought ground from Appel and Elsworth. They had a few erven measured out and sold these for private dwellings. Until then, the railways had been responsible for all facilities in the town, so Hitchcock and Oosthuizen arranged for the installation of a sewerage system and water for those erven not served by windmills. The railway supplied electricity to these two men for distribution to the non-railway section of the town.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

A WAR-TIME HUB

Noupoort’s glory days began with the Anglo-Boer War. It served as a railway junction, linking the Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and De Aar lines.

The war played out in several phases, and Noupoort’s role shifted over time.

During the first phase of the war, Boer Commandos invaded the Cape Colony across the Orange Free State border, in order to prevent the advance of the British and Colonial Forces towards Bloemfontein and Kimberley, and to encourage the local Dutch speaking communities of the Cape Colony to rise up in revolt against the British. Colesberg was the main Boer base, and it became a key goal for the British forces gathering near Noupoort.

In October, 1899, after the Boers besieged two major towns (Mafeking on 13 October 1899, and Kimberley the next day), General Sir Redvers Buller feared another disaster, so he ordered the Stormberg and Noupoort garrisons to pull back to Queenstown on 3 November 1899, leaving only De Aar railway junction under guard by British forces. This created a vacuum virtually from Port Elizabeth to the Orange River. The Boers were slow to exploit this weakness, and General Hendrik Schoeman only occupied Colesberg on 14 November.

The British realised that the Boer advance to Colesberg posed a major threat for its railway system. Sir Redvers Buller, commander of the British forces in South Africa, ordered the immediate re-occupation of Noupoort to block this threat. A combined force of Berkshires, Black Watch, the New South Wales Lancers, Cape Police and Royal Garrison artillery was despatched, commanded by Lieutenant-General French.

French arrived at Noupoort on 20 November 1899, accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Major Douglas Haig. (Both French and Haig would continue to take leading roles in World War I). The British troops now numbered about two thousand. From his base at Noupoort, French made many sorties northwards towards Colesberg, using the railway line as a useful supply system.

French set about transforming Noupoort into a military base. Tents sprang up south-west of the station. Michael de Jongh and Belinda Gordon, in their book The Forgotten Front, describe Boer scouts watched from nearby hills as British troops unloaded horses, livestock and supplies from trains and wagons. Others were digging trenches and erecting defence walls to protect the station. In fact, many of these new recruits still had to learn to ride.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

British tented camp at Noupoort

The Boers entrenched themselves at Colesberg, and created a front almost 50 km from east to west. Unlike many other towns in the district, the Boers never attempted to annex Noupoort, and the first Boer General at Colesberg, Hendrik Schoeman, never showed sufficient courage or initiative to threaten Noupoort directly. By the time the notable General De Wet took over command at Colesberg, the British were too well dug in at Noupoort to be challenged.

The Noupoort contingent was greatly strengthened by the arrival of the Australians, fresh from some hard fighting at Belmont on the western frontier. The Australians arrived on 29 January 1899, under the command of Colonel JC Hoad of Victoria. The regiment was inspected by Major-General Kelly-Kenny, who said, “Colonel Hoad, I am delighted to have seen those Australians and to notice the excellent physique of the men and the fit condition in which you have brought them to this station”. Even more Australians arrived during the next week. During the next six weeks, they were very active in the entire area between Noupoort and Colesberg, revelling in their horsemanship and field experience gained in the Australian outback.

Australian troops at Noupoort

Image: Australian War Memorial

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

He headed for Arundel, the next hamlet along the line, taking with him a company of the Black Watch, forty mounted infantry, and a troop of the New South Wales Lancers. Nothing resulted from the expedition, but French was successful in keeping the Boers in check.

Reinforcements from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles arrived in Noupoort on 1 December 1899, with no fewer than 400 men. On 18 December 1899, the New Zealanders suffered their first causality when Trooper GR Bradford was killed in a Boer attack on the farm Jasfontein near Noupoort.

General French at Rensburg station, north of Noupoort

Image: Australian War Museum

In December 1899, French was sent to the Western Front to assist Lord Roberts in his historic campaign from Hopetown to Bloemfontein. Major-General Ralph Arthur Penryth Clements then took over from French in Colesberg.

General Ralph Clements

After the action at Pink Hill in February, Clements shortened his line in the face of the Boer advance and retreated to Rensburg siding. He continued to cover Noupoort, simply because of its importance as a railway junction, until the advance of Roberts' army caused a complete reversal of the whole military situation.

From April 1900 to September 1900, Noupoort helped to transfer military supplies for the main British offensive towards Johannesburg and Pretoria. Finally, during the guerrilla war phase, after October 1900, Noupoort was a major transport route for British troops working to combat Boer commandos roaming around the eastern Karoo.

All through the war, soldiers, supplies and horses regularly passed through town, and injured men arrived by rail and ambulance to be taken to the hospital. Almost all the key South African War figures travelled through Noupoort at some stage during the war. Thousands of Boer

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind prisoners were transported by rail to the south to be exiled to distant detention centres elsewhere in the world. For a short while, about 63 women were housed in a special camp near the koppie; after some unrest they were moved. A small number of Boer prisoners were kept captive in a stockade in Noupoort for a while.

Noupoort Railway Station, 1900

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

Although Noupoort was never attacked by the Boers, there were many battles and skirmishes in the vicinity. One of the most intense clashes was on 20 February 1900 at Arundel, an important British railway base just north of Noupoort. Australian troops acquitted themselves with distinction in the Karoo in 1900. A large force of Boers attacked Arundel. The companies involved in this encounter were the Victorian Mounted Rifles under Captain McLeish, the New South Wales Infantry under Captain Legge and the South Australian Rifles under Captain Howland. Fighting continued throughout the day, and the Australians, whose firing was well directed and effective, finally succeeded in repelling the attack. The Boers were shelled until they were driven from the shelter of the koppies and forced to retire.

ON 29 May 1901, at the height of the guerrilla war, the farm Roospoort, east of Noupoort, was the site of a large engagement. Commandant HW Lategan and JC Lötter attacked about 250 men under Lieutenant-Colonel Crabbe. It was an inconclusive clash, but Lategan managed to capture some horses.

A GARRISON TOWN

An old British curved corrugated iron building was dismantled in India by British troops stationed there and shipped to South Africa as a recreation hall for the soldiers stationed in Noupoort. It was formally opened by Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson (then Governor-General of the Cape Colony) and named after him.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

The recreation hall, which officers used as a gymnasium, reading rooms and concert hall.

In 1903 or 1904 the Railway Institute building was added, and it later became a railway community centre and a cinema.

The Railway Institute, around 1904

Image: Transnet Historical Archive

The Railway Institute today (below)

A significant hospital, the No 26 General Hospital, was set up to care for the British sick and wounded.

Many countries and Red Cross-type organisations sent equipment and personnel to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War. Among these was a group of nurses who ended up at Noupoort. They arrived in Cape Town on the SS Briton on 20 April 1900. At Cape Town, there was no transport to take them northwards, so they did not disembark, but sailed on to Port Elizabeth. There they found no suitable accommodation so on 17 May 1900, proceeded to Noupoort and joined the No 26 General Hospital.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Sister Mary Boyd is remembered on a memorial in the Boer war cemetery with compounder (pharmacist) A J Currie, and ten privates. The stone was erected by their fellow officers, nursing sisters and comrades. One of the orderlies, William Dick, also died of typhoid.

Tragedy struck three weeks after they arrived. Mary Boyd, the sister of physician Dr Francis D Boyd, was struck down by dysentery. Nothing could be done to help her, and she died four months later.

A British nurse with connections to Noupoort was Theodosia “Dosia” Bagot (née Leslie, later Swann). She did a most professional job. She founded the Portland Hospital and accompanied it to South Africa during the Boer War, for which she was awarded the Royal Red Cross. She had little nursing experience but learnt on the job during her time in South Africa. She became particularly skilled on the surgical wards in Noupoort.

In 1901, Dosia published her book Shadows of the War, a narrative of experiences of the war. She wrote: “In going out to war I have fulfilled a dream of 20 years standing and, in preparing for it, I have seized every available opportunity of acquiring practical nursing expertise and getting surgical and medical training.” Theodosia Bagot

Over 1800 SJAB (St John Ambulance Brigade) volunteers came to South Africa to serve at various places during the war. Approximately 60 of them died at Noupoort from enteric fever (typhoid) which they contracted from their patients. Private George Pickels, of the Hebden Bridge Corps, who died on May 8, 1900, is buried at Noupoort.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

The British war graves

Image: Siegwalt Kusel

Interestingly, Boer Commandant Gideon Scheepers was nursed back to health at this hospital before being sent to Graaff-Reinet for trial and execution.

But not all lady nurses won the respect of their peers. During the war, the term “lady hindrance” was used to describe a group of non-nursing “nurses” - female 'do-gooders' who almost literally killed with kindness. Notoriously arrogant and imperious, they got in the way of the “real medical personnel”.

One of these battle-axes was Lady Maud Mary O’Hagan. When she arrived in Cape Town in February 1900, she lost no time in offering to go Noupoort and to take seven or eight patients under her care. According to the Queen’s South Africa Medal Roll, “Lady O’Hagan with the approval of Lord Roberts and of Surgeon-General Wilson, established a cottage hospital, equipped and maintained at her own expense, at Noupoort, Cape Colony, from 25 July 1900 until June 1902, and, ably assisted by Miss Thomas rendered most valuable services in receiving and caring for sick and wounded officers.” Her hospital was at first the only accommodation for officers. It was under the medical superintendence of the OC No.6 General Hospital who appointed Lady O’Hagan as ‘Lady Superintendent’.

Lady O’Hagan arrived in Noupoort in April 1900, accompanied by a cook. She was not there for long before disaster struck. A fire that started in the mosquito netting over a badly wounded officer quickly spread and soon her whole huge hospital tent burned down. Fortunately, all the patients were evacuated in time.

THE COLDSTREAMS AT NOUPOORT

The Coldstream Guards served in several Karoo towns, with their main base at Graaff-Reinet. The 1st Battalion of Coldstreamers saw action at Modder River and Magersfontein before moving to the Karoo.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

During the guerrilla phase of the war, the Coldstreamers were stationed at Noupoort.

Image: British National Army Museum

The men trekked about in mobile columns, did garrison work and built blockhouses during 1901. For the first six months of 1902 to protect the rail from Noupoort to Rosmead in one direction and to De Aar in the other.

From about June 1901, the town was under the command of Captain Crosse of the South African Mounted Irregular Forces. He was known to be helpful and sympathetic to its inhabitants and treated them with kindness.

The town was garrisoned to protect the rail link from the invading Boer Commandos. One of the most unusual blockhouses erected in South Africa, perhaps the most idiosyncratic in the country, was built in Noupoort.

The blockhouse in Noupoort resembles a Dutch windmill Image: Siegwalt Kusel

The base of the blockhouse is 8m in diameter. This tapers to 7m at the top, and the entrance is 7m above ground. It has five vertical steel loopholes and 15 horizontal ones at the top. Unusually, the loophole plates are mounted on the outside and not in the middle of the wall as is customary. Apertures are much larger than usual.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

On 22 June 1901, Number 16 Armoured Train was assigned to the Coldstream Guards at Noupoort. Lieutenant RL Dawson was its commander until 11 September 1901, when command was taken over by Lieutenant JC Grant. He named the train “Coldstreamer” and had the unit’s insignia painted on the armoured trucks.

No 16 Armoured Train (the Coldstreamer)

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

The Coldstreamer patrolled the line until December 1901. The crew consisted of Second Lieutenant Lefroy, from the Royal Engineers, plus 32 NCO's and men, four gunners, three Royal Engineers signallers, one searchlight expert and two cyclists. The drivers, stokers and guards were civilians and Cape Government Railway employees. Armaments included a 3- pounder gun and two machine guns. The train carried a special truck with rails and paraphernalia to repair the line when necessary. This train was sent out to rescue the wounded Commandant Kritzinger and Gerrit Boldingh, a Dutchman, who was fighting on the side of the Boers.

When Kritzinger was lying badly wounded in the veld near Noupoort, one of his adjutants raced to the blockhouse to ask for help. On that night, the English officer in charge of Hanover station said: “One hardly knows who admire most, the resource of the Boers or the tenacity of the British Columns.”

The dramatic tale of his rescue is told in the diary of Major Godfrey Dalrymple-White, of the Grenadier Guards: “The armoured train had just got in when we got the news that a young Boer had come in to Number 40 blockhouse, under a flag of truce, saying his commandant and another wounded Boer were lying in the veld near a windmill. We went to look for them, but after searching in the dark for an hour we found neither. The Coldstreamer Train’s search light was then turned on. It played across the veld as we stumbled over Karoo bushes. About two miles away we found Kritzinger and got him on a stretcher. His ADCs Landman and Hugo wanted him urgently brought in. No one seemed to know the whereabouts of the other man but, much as we admired the fidelity of the ADCs, we could not leave a wounded man out all night. At last we heard a feeble voice and steering for it, found him.”

Dalrymple-White led Kritzinger’s horse as the others carried him back across the veld. “It was a hard job as he is a very heavy man. We put him into Berring’s bed in the train where he was bandaged up. He showed great pluck and never even groaned. The bullet had gone through his left arm, through both lungs but missed the right arm. After we gave him an opium pill, he went to sleep just like a child. The doctor said he had never seen such wonderful breathing

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind with a lung wound. Kritzinger is a very fine-looking man, about 6 feet tall, with a delicate complexion, dark hair, a small beard, very strong face and a good expression.”

The British received a message from Commandant Louis Wessels, who had taken over from Kritzinger, asking them “to be very kind to the commandant saying he is well worthy of it”.

The Dutchman, Boldingh, was shot in the stomach while crossing a river near Noupoort on 19 December 1901. The bullet lodged just under the groin. He died next day. Born in Noorn in 1871, he joined the Boers as a volunteer and served with General De Wet in the Orange Free State and with Commandant Kritzinger in the Cape. His diary Een Hollandsch Officier in Zuid-Afrika was published in 1903.

Gerrit Boldingh, who died far away from home Image: www.angloboerwar.com

Dalrymple-White told Kritzinger he was pleased to meet him as he had been tracking him for five months. Kritzinger said: “I too am glad to see you”.

Kritzinger gave a beautiful karos of wild cat skins to the train’s medical orderly and a new down quilt. He had £24 in gold coins and Dalrymple-White gave him some English coins for a few gold ones and kept his purse, after buying him a new one.

Kritzinger being loaded on a hospital train

After a few weeks in the hospital at Noupoort, Kritzinger was taken to the military prison at Graaff-Reinet.

In March 1902, Kritzinger was charged with high treason. Advocate FHG Gardiner, who later became Judge President of the Cape, ably defended him and he was acquitted on all the charges brought against him.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

WAR HEROES

About 108 Noupoort men enlisted to serve with the District Mounted Troops. In addition to the memorial to Sister Boyd, the garden of remembrance in Noupoort cemetery contains about 22 individual graves – of Canadians, Irishmen, Australians and Scotsmen - as well as about 250 names on a combined memorial of British and Colonial soldiers. They were all killed in the area or died of disease or wounds in hospital.

The cemetery gates

Approximately 128 Medals were awarded to Noupoort District Mounted Troops during the Anglo-Boer War. Among the recipients were Troopers FJ du Toit and Adolph Hey who was born in the Eastern Cape in 1851.

Adolph Hey was first employed as a Sergeant in the City Police for Grahamstown in the Albany District from 12 June 1881, before transferring as Superintendent of the Borough Police at King William’s Town on 1 January 1882. He subsequently served as Chief Constable and Messenger for the Resident Magistrate of Queenstown from March 1888, transferring in the same capacity to George in the Southern Cape in January 1891. He went to Peddie in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape in July 1893.

Johannes Cornelis Lötter, who joined the Boers as a scout, dispatch rider and spy, once worked as a barman in Noupoort. As early as June 1900, he had drawn up a plan to enlist a small commando from the south-western Orange Free State districts and return to the Cape to wage guerrilla war. This plan was approved by President Steyn. Lötter is said to have worked with H Brazelle and Jacob Petrus Neser, both prominent scouts and spies. He was promoted to the rank of Commandant, and the British branded him a “Cape Rebel”.

Lötter’s war experiences, and tragic death, were recorded for posterity by Taffy and David Shearing.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Lötter operated with Commandant Kritzinger and Commandant Fouche in the Cape during the guerrilla phase of the war. He was wounded in the engagement of Jackalsfontein near Cradock on 21 July 1901. He was captured at Bouwershoek on 5 September 1901, tried for treason and other charges, found guilty and executed at Middelburg.

John James Clements, a Middelburg-born man, enlisted in Rimington's Guides at Noupoort on 20 October 1899. He was one of 78 men to be awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the Boer War. He was a popular, well-liked man among the troops. Colonel Rimington said that Clements had a splendid physique, was a good boxer and always ready for a “scrap”.

The dashing John Clements, VC

Clements received the award for bravery at Strydenburg on 24 February 1900. He was shot through the lungs, but when called upon to surrender leapt to his feet, dashed at the Boers and shot three with his revolver. He then forced all five Boers to surrender. Clements recovered from his wounds and went on to serve in World War I.

William James Hardham, a New Zealander, was also awarded a Victoria Cross for action near Noupoort. His citation by General Herbert Kitchener and published in the London Gazette of October 4, 1901 read: “On 28 January 1901, near Noupoort, this Non-Commissioned Officer was with a section which was extended and hotly engaged with a party of about 20 Boers. Just before the force commenced to retire, Trooper McCrae was wounded and his horse killed. Farrier- Major Hardham at once went under a heavy fire to his assistance, dismounted and placed him on his own horse, and ran alongside until he had guided him to a place of safety.”

William Hardham, VC

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Major-General Ian Hamilton believed a Distinguished Conduct Medal would have been an appropriate recognition, but Field-Marshal Lord Roberts concurred with Kitchener and the VC was presented to Hardham on in July 1925, by George, Prince of Wales, who was on a visit to South Africa.

Ivie H Allen, an active photographer during the Anglo-Boer War, risked his life to capture the execution of commandant Gideon Scheepers. He hid a small camera in his jacket. He also managed to photograph General Wynand Malan in a hospital bed at Noupoort on the day that peace was proclaimed.

Allen’s famous illicit photograph of Scheepers’s death in Graaff-Reinet (above), and his photo of Wynand Malan (left)

Thirteen rebels appeared in court at Noupoort on 11 April 1900 and were allowed out on bail pending further investigation. Hendrik R Vorster of Derdepoort, Peter and Barend H Swart of Colesberg, and Frederick L van Drag of Blaauwkrantz were all held in the Noupoort jail, while awaiting trial. They had been captured in Philippolis on 23 March 1900, as General Clements made his triumphant march through the southern Free State.

THE HEY-DAY OF STEAM

Progress was rapid after the 1930s. By 1937, there was as village management board, and in 1942, a town council was established with Oosthuizen as the first mayor. The railways were still responsible for the sanitation, lighting and maintenance of the streets, there was not much the village management board to do.

Mr D’Oliviera was the first magistrate, followed by Mitchell. The first magistrate’s office was located in Shaw Street. But it was later moved to the western side of the railway line and amalgamated with the police station. In 1900, this building became the single quarters for railway men, later a school hostel, and later still a school and in 1955, a new magistrate’s court was opened by the then Minister of Justice, CR Swart.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

By 1936, the town had become a municipal district with a municipal market operating twice a week to supply residents with fresh fruit and vegetables. The first post office was at the station.

In those days, stations were bustling places, and book stalls were profitable!

Noupoort station bookstall, 1919 Image: Transnet Heritage Library

The Shaw brothers’ shop became a popular social venue. It was in a building which belonged to Fryer, later to Wilmot, later still to Van Aswegen and then to the Keun Brothers.

In Tavern of the Sea in the Cape Argus, columnist David Biggs wrote: “In those days the most wonderful place in Noupoort was the shop of Mr Keun, the general dealer. It smelled deliciously of strong tobacco, coffee and leather. There were festoons of tin baths, horse- shoes, spades, bicycle tyres and gumboots hanging from the ceiling because every other square inch of space was filled with other goods.

“In this magic cave, Mr Keun bustled about at high speed shouting orders from the coal shed out in the backyard - calling for a new drum of paraffin, a box of blue soap or a pair of size 10 farm boots. And when he’d taken the order, he would write a list of all the prices on a brown paper bag with a pencil that lived behind his left ear, add up the columns (there were three figures in those days) – and in a second or two, simply by running his finger down the columns, he would write the total underneath. He was never wrong. There were no computers then, but nobody ever caught Mr Keun out. He’d spin the packet round for you to check. It wasn’t necessary. I sometimes found that packet in the parcel later and checked it as home. It was always correct.”

Elsworth’s general dealers also had a good reputation for service and quality goods. In time it was taken over by Van Eck, Salkinder, Kaplan, Shakinovsky, Van Rensburg and later Botha. JS Marais and son opened a chemist and so did a Mrs Segal. The Marais family sold their business to Jooste, who turned it into a café and later sold it to Mrs Rita Pienaar, who upgraded it to a restaurant. John van Greenen opened a hairdresser shop, which he sold to a Mr Craikon, who in turn sold the premises to Van Wyk who turned the shop into a café. It later changed hands several times and among its owners were Hennie Muller, Du Preez and Delport. Mr Dave had a furniture shop; Nieuwenhuizen started a dry-cleaners, Oelofse had a store and Moore a green-grocers. There was also a bakery, a butcher, a cobbler and a mineral water company. Seamans started a garage, and DF Calitz set himself up as a tailor and lived above his shop.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Bobkow sold his shop to Van Wyngaard who later sold it to Marais. Gawie Schoeman sold his business to Lasky, a printer. As always, the station remained the backbone of the economy.

The immaculate railway station, circa 1936

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

Even the Afrikaans community expanded, and found its spiritual home in the NG Church. Dominee Heyns and his family were the first occupants of the Dutch Reformed Church parsonage, between 1940 and 1946.

The modern NG Church, built in 1973. The cornerstone (below) is all that remained of the original church, erected in 1913.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

The small Jewish community also grew. Reuben Salkinder was a speculator in 1911, and JL Kaplan was a general dealer in 1913. The Jewish community reached its peak in the mid- 1920s.

Melmed’s imperial Hotel in 1936 offered Comfort, Cleanliness and Civility, and was available to meet all trains at the station

The Noupoort station soon became once one of the busiest in the Southern hemisphere. By 1920, up to a hundred trains a day, loaded with over 25 000 tons of goods, raced through here. The town was a trainspotters’ haunt in the days of steam. Railway enthusiasts loved nothing more than watching the great “old black steel Goliaths” chug along and puff across the Karoo. In 1952, the railway workshops were extended at a cost of £200 000.

David Biggs recalled, “When I was a youngster, Noupoort was quite a bustling little Karoo railway town. It echoed day and night with the tootling of train whistles and the blast of escaping steam.”

Noupoort station, 1909

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

The station required a large staff, and this formed the backbone of Noupoort’s economy.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Station Master, J Allen and staff, 1910-1915

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

Other interesting characters had links with Noupoort. Allan Griffiths Watson was born in Hopetown in 1876, and worked for the South African Railways all his life. He received his education at the South African College, Cape Town, and at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. His first appointment was that of locomotive representative and draughtsman on the Cape Government Railways. Subsequently he was made district locomotive superintendent on the Midland section in 1901, based at Noupoort.

After acting as chief draughtsman and professional assistant at Uitenhage from 1902 to 1910, Watson served for the next twelve years as mechanical assistant superintendent at Kimberley. He was promoted in 1929 to be chief mechanical engineer of the entire railway system, comprising a mileage of some 13,000 and a staff of over 12,000.

Allan Griffiths Watson

In the 1920s, Watson was responsible for designing and building some low-cost double- engined railcars and he later introduced water-softening plants in the Karoo and South West Africa. He modernised works, improved layouts, machinery and buildings, and established the construction of rolling stock in the railways workshops. He introduced three standard locomotive boilers and developed several large locomotive types.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Piet Meyer, one time Minister of Transport and Works, and later Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament, reminisced about his carefree childhood days at Noupoort in November, 1998, while unveiling the first road sign at Three Sisters, welcoming tourists to the Western Cape. It was the railways that brought his family to this place. “The Karoo is a special place.” he said. Born on August 12, 1940, Meyer held many positions in public office and served the people of South Africa with dignity, humility and honesty over a period of four decades. He died on 22 August 2020, aged 80.

The bustling railway yard, 1946

Image: Transnet Heritage Library

Another well-known son of Noupoort is David Biggs, the well-known freelance columnist. wine writer and one-time writer of the widely-known Cape Argus, Tavern of the Seas Column. He grew up on grew up on a sheep farm, Grapevale, where he developed a love for the area and all its creatures, its culture, history and its people. He regularly caught the train at the little local station to travel to Grahamstown to attend St Andrews College.

David, who is fluent in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, worked at The Friend newspaper in Bloemfontein from 1962 until 1975, and wrote for several magazines. He loves the Karoo and has several times travelled through it on his Vespa scooter as he felt this was the best way to appreciate the scenery.

David has authored at least fourteen wine and cocktail related books. Among these are Enjoy Wine (co-authored with Dave Hughes),The Plonk Buyers' Guide, Your Own Cocktails and In Reasonable Taste. He also wrote two joke books, Van for All Seasons and The Slightly Blue Joke Book, as well as Karoo Ramblings: Short Stories and Tall Tales, which was beautifully illustrated by Tony Grogan. Several of his wine books have been translated in other languages, including Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Swedish. He is a qualified wine judge and was presented with a scroll of honour by the Cape Wine and Spirit Education Trust in 2001 for "An exceptional contribution to Wine and Spirit Education." In 2011 David was named a "Living

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Legend" in the wine industry and presented with a scroll of honour signed by Helen Zille, then executive mayor of Cape Town. He enjoys cooking, painting and playing the piano accordion.

In Noupoort, the past can still be glimpsed – in the architecture, the railway line, the majestic mountainous setting, and the cemetery. Also, like most Karoo towns, the Noupoort has its own ghost story. On one of the farms, a little woman dressed in Victorian clothes was once spotted walking around pointing at the ground. Later on, stacks of coins wrapped in cloth were found where she pointed; they were shiny on the inside, rusty on the outside.

A NEW ENERGY

In 1966, when diesel locomotives were introduced, they were called the Red Starvation. Because of their colour and because they did not need a driver and fireman each, as was required on the steam locomotives. Their introduction meant that the staff contingent was drastically reduced and many families were transferred to other towns. David Biggs mournfully recalls that few trains now pass through, and most of the old railway houses with their corrugated iron fences have been knocked down.

The station remained busy for many decades – albeit with fewer staff.

Noupoort shunting yard in 1979 – now with electric engines Image: JJ Marais

Despite the decline of the steam train glory days, Noupoort still ticks over. In 1992 a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center was established in Noupoort by Pastor Sophos Nissiotis. It was named the Noupoort Christian Care Center. This is the largest faith-based rehabilitation center in South Africa.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

For outdoor enthusiasts there are some excellent walks and trails on farms in the district. Among these are the Brulberg hikes, 4x4 and mountain biking trails, the Transkaroo Hiking Trail, Doornkloof Nature Reserve Karoo, Gariep Conservancy and Mountain bike trail.

Noupoort’s next phase will be most profoundly influenced – by the wind. Several wind energy projects have been established on the highlands surrounding the town.

Noupoort Wind Farm was the first facility of its kind in South Africa to successfully achieve its Commercial Operations Date (COD) on schedule and on budget in the third phase of the country’s renewable energy programme. This was an important milestone on a long and exciting road which began way back on 29 October 2012 when environmental authorisation was received.

The farm lies 10km east of Noupoort and covers 7500 ha. The site was chosen because it has excellent wind and after an assessment showed there would be little environmental impact. Good construction conditions and close proximity to national roads for turbine transportation were major considerations, as well as the straightforward connection to the Eskom Grid.

Noupoort Wind Farm Image: Tim Hart

Commercial operation began in July 2016. This farm has 35 wind turbines, each reaching a height of 99 metres. When operating at full capacity, this 80MW facility will generates around 304 800MWh of clean renewable energy per year.

This “green” electricity is sufficient to power approximately 91 835 South African homes and avoid approximately 300,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year when compared to traditional fossil fuel power plan. The country will also benefit from minimal water consumption during the generation process.

The wind farm has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom as well as an implementation agreement with the Department of Energy, which is part of the South African Government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme.

Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

A sense of place: An old wood and iron house in Noupoort with a magnificent mountain background

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Rose Willis Noupoort: From Steam to Wind

Kraal Wind Energy Facility, Noupoort; sahris.sahra.org.za; Philip le Feuvre, Cultural and Theological factors affecting relationships between the Nederduitse-Gereformeerde Kerk and the Anglican Church (of the Province of South Africa) in the Cape Colony 1806-1910, University of Cape Town, PhD thesis; Michael de Jongh and Belinda Gordon, The Forgotten Front: Untold stories of the Anglo-Boer War in the Karoo (2018); Private communication: Pierre Marais, an old Noupoort resident and businessman; https://digitalcollections.lib.uct.ac.za/open-access-collections.

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Recommended citation: © Rose Willis (2021), Noupoort: From Steam to Wind, Karoo Cameos series, Karoo Development Foundation, www.karoofoundation.co.za